


The Examiner

by RoaringNectar



Category: Doctor Who, Home Alone (Movies)
Genre: Drama, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Intense, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-02-07 19:43:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12848199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoaringNectar/pseuds/RoaringNectar
Summary: The Examiner is a captive of the U.S. government, who is used to crack the most difficult murder cases. He can provide evidence like no one before him. The only problem, is his irregular methods. When a deceased man named David Snook is wheeled in, he begins his routine, but something is different. His life will be flung, and begin a journey to his true self.





	The Examiner

David Snook, a man who was known by no one one. I say was, because he left this earth three days before the Christmas of 1990. This was only two days before the home of the McCallisters had an attempted robbery. He only lived two doors down. Are these two crimes connected? What reasons would the alleged burglars have to murder a seemingly innocent  
man? Well, that’s my job. You might say that I’m a part of the police force, but then again you might not. I don’t recover the bodies. They bring them to me, and I let them speak. You see, that is the one thing most people never get after they pass away, is a chance talk, and tell their story. 

 

Alright. You know who I am. That’s already one more step than most people know about me. My name? Ha. I don’t think so. That’s one thing that will have to stay hidden, but don’t go digging around now. According to the US government, I don’t exist. 

Just to begin, this was one of the most messed up cases I’ve ever seen. I have no control over what they tell me, or how they appear to form. The following accounts are not fictional. David Snook? A real man with a real family. So when I explain my work in greater detail, don’t call it phony, because if it weren’t for me, this story may not have had a happy ending.

My office is… messy. Yeah, let’s go with messy. I’m not going to tell you what it’s messy with. Let’s call them papers. I like that, sounds professional. I also have equipment. I suppose you might compare it to a large computer that takes up all the space in a room, except for the fact that they only cover the two walls opposite my desk. 

The day he wheeled in my next patient, I felt a deep and sorrowful vibe settle across the room. This wasn’t abnormal, but definitely not a pleasant part of my work. He was lying under a white cloth on a bed with wheels. The man handed me a file, then smartly marched out of the room, careful to lock the door behind them. I heard it jiggle as he tested it, just to be sure. They didn’t want their precious expert escaping, did they?

A small sigh broke through my lips. That was the most interaction I would have with a breathing human for weeks, maybe months. Well, no matter now. Let’s take a peek at his file, shall we?

 

File of David Snook

Date of Death: December 28, 1990  
Cause of Death: Blunt Force to The Head?? Unknown  
Residence: 667 Lincoln Avenue  
Birthdate: July 6, 1941  
Age at time of Death: 49  
Marriage Status: Single

Was last seen on December 26 at the local grocery store. Purchased a single loaf of whole wheat bread, a package of cheddar cheese, and a bag of grapes. Nothing suspicious about visit.  
Returned to his home, and neighbors report seeing his lights turn off around 9:30 pm, but never turned back on.  
Family came to the house to check in on him after he didn’t show up to Christmas dinner. Victim was found lying on the floor of his living room. Victim was unresponsive with no heartbeat. Reported loss of skin color. Baseball bat was discovered within four feet of the Victim.  
Police summoned at 10:34 pm on December 31. Body removed and brought to official “Examiner”.

 

Okay, so this was an average file. Nothing huge, no major leads. Guess I’m an Examiner now. I’ve gone by Detective, Officer, Employee… The list goes on. Anyway, his file didn’t explain the sense of dread that came over the room as soon as his body entered. Might as well get to work. 

I made my way across the room to my subject. Now for the dirty work. I carefully tore back the white cloth from the skin. It was a challenge not to notice the horrible stench that was emitted from his carcass as I attached the necessary wires to his frontal lobe and other major receptive points along his body. Once I had finished, one wide step backwards was all it took to survey my work. The sight nearly caused my stomach to rid itself of the meager food it had eaten earlier in the day. Not pretty, no matter how needed5 the procedure was, it never quite settled with me. 

I walked over to my desk, which was currently the residence of my primary piece of equipment; the monitor. I turned the tracker towards the deceased man and waited patiently for the meter to rise. Two hours later, I still yielded the same result; nothing. At that moment, an idea formed in my head. What if the spirit left the body?

I held my breath as I spun the tracker around every corner of the room. Nothing. Then, slowly, I tilted it up, towards the ceiling… And BAM! The readings were off the charts! Fingers trembling, I snatched my prized possession off my desk, an item that the man who had gifted it to me called a “screwdriver”. I pointed it at my phantom, and pulled the trigger, but something didn’t connect. Instead of being able to hear the spirit’s voice, I was… Inside his mind, or whatever of it still remained. 

“Hello?” I called. I received a dramatic reply.

I was thrust into the scene with no warning. I saw David locking up his house after grocery shopping. He turned the lights off and went to bed. The next day was a blur, but time appeared to slow down just in time to see two people conversing outside David’s home. When David opened his door to shoo them away, they gave him a questioning glare and asked: “Did you hear anything?”

Confused and angered at the fact that two men had just stood in front of his house for no apparent reason, he slammed the door whilst yelling: “NO!”

However, after the two men walked away, David checked his security camera. It had recorded some disturbing footage. The taller man repeatedly asked the shorter man: “Is tonight the night? Will we do both?” While the shorter man simply grinned, nodded, and pretended his hands were cold. 

David, being a sensible person, phoned the authorities. They assured him that everything was just fine, and that nothing was happening that night. But David wasn’t sure, and slept on his couch with a baseball bat in his arms. That simple precaution wasn’t enough. He never woke up. I won’t describe the specifics of the murder, for they are too gruesome for words, and my mind will be eternally scarred.

Now that David has passed on in the experience I am going through, I got the rare opportunity to watch the attempted murder (No longer considered a robbery in my book) of a young boy in a house just two houses down, from his perspective. (He has also informed me of the murderer’s names. Harry and Marv.)

David brought me into the house, where I saw a past image of him warning the child of the coming dangers. He nodded and ran off. The child sat at his desk, furiously scribbling. After nearly an hours worth of planning, he set out his paper on a card table, and ran off to find some of his materials. A closer inspection of his childish drawing indicated that he only planned to defend his front door. Everything else apparently didn’t matter.

I looked towards David in disbelief. Could this be true? He nodded and replied; “That is your job, why you are here. I cannot change what has already occurred, but you, you, with your tool can rewrite history and save Kevin of the horrible fate that awaited me.” His body was beginning to fade just the slightest amount. Not nearly enough to cause alarm.

My eyes turned wide with understanding. “My job…” I whispered to myself. Then I set to work. The back door. Drop a bucket of water down the stairs, an iron attached to the light switch, tar on the stairs… The ideas flooded from my brain. I pointed my screwdriver at the paper and Kevin came zooming back to add new ideas. Then, they came to life. With a my extra help, he was completed with time to spare. 

Then the moment of truth. They arrived. “Hello, are you in there? It’s Santy Claus!” Yelled Harry through the door. “And his elf!!” There came the voice that I recognized, the voice that I heard in so many voices of the lost souls; Death. A shiver trickled down my spine. I couldn’t watch. I was afraid. It felt wrong. I rub shoulders with death every month, giving him the so called hopeless spirits. But this time, he is truly a reaper, taking the lives of those who do not deserve to yet die.

So I step in. I point my screwdriver because I know my traps could not stop a being so powerful. I point at Marv, and he sinks to the ground, Harry running away as fast as he can. In Kevin’s mind, he still won for himself, but… I didn’t even give him a chance. What did I do…? I feel a tightness grip my chest, as a deep voice chuckles; “You can never cheat Death. I thought you were smarter than them. I never thought I’d have to take you!” I struggle for one more second, as a moment of understanding comes over me. I’d done it wrong. I needed a second chance. So I wished, and Death sighed as I disappeared, and I became an innocent man once more. This time, however, I had knowledge. This time would be the last. 

So… I died. But not really. I mean, I came back, didn’t I? What was the date? I glanced over at the calendar on my wall. Wait a minute… I was back in my office! I felt a shooting pain in my heart, as I realized the day.

It was the moment I met David. As the man wheeled in my next patient, I felt the unsettling vibe sweep across the room. Before, I had blandly thought this was a normal part of my work. Now… I knew. I knew Death was a cheater, and I knew he was with me. David was still lying under a white blanket on a transportable bed with wheels. The man handed me his file, then jaunted out of the room, careful to lock the door behind him. I heard him test it, just to be sure. I was filled with apprehension as I threw the file on my desk and made my way over to his body. This time, his stench was almost bearable, and I could almost feel his spirit in the room with me. I paused for just a moment, dread washing over my body like ice cold water. This was no ghost, only Man’s worst nightmare could cause what I felt. My eyes bugged out as I was strangled against the floor…

 

Ten years later…

I was sitting uncomfortably on a couch, talking to a calm lady with a kind smile. “Do you remember?” She asked me.

I felt my eyes blink twice as I surveyed the room. “Wh- where am I?” My vocal cords felt weak, as if I had been screaming. My mind was a haze, struggling to process what I had been through.

The woman’s smile flickered for a moment, but was soon back to what it used to be. She explained to me who I was, what I had been through, and the damage to my brain. I had been through this very process at least seven times. My name was unknown, but the first time I had woken up, I had wished to be called Ruker. That’s it. No explanation. 

I was found on the streets of New York, dressed raggedly and mumbling about a ghost. I had no evidence of head trauma, but a trip to the hospital proved that wrong. I was diagnosed with an unknown condition, one where I would forget everything I knew excluding speech only hours after I learned something. 

The woman again looked at me, as if expecting a reaction. I felt as if I should do something, but all I felt was tiredness, I just wanted to sleep. My body stood itself up, but crumpled to the floor. My vision blurred, and I fell into a deep slumber.

I was again observing the night of the robbery. This time, I saw Kevin running from Death and his companion. He ran down the street, while the two burglars rumbled along behind him in a truck. Kevin took a left turn down an alley, and sprinted for the safety of the church. Death cursed, and leaped out of his truck, with Harry stumbling out behind him, trying to keep an eye on their target. Yet, when they reached the church, Death backed away, mumbling about how he probably never even went in there anyways. Kevin heard Harry declare: “If we can’t get him now, he’ll be in his house by nightfall tonight.” Then they stalked away down the street.

Once they were gone, I saw a blonde mop of hair pop up from behind a lamb at the nativity scene. Kevin took a deep breath, then ran away down the street in the opposite direction his two assailants had disappeared in. Once he arrived at his house, Kevin proceeded to roll out a long piece of white paper, and procure a set of colored pencils and markers. He set to work, first making an outline of his house and then adding markings and reminders as to where to set up traps for the burglars he knew would come by 9:00.

Kevin ran away to set up his traps, but upon closer inspection, I discovered that he only planned to defend his front door, completely leaving his basement and windows open for entry. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! This couldn’t be right, could it? Then, as if by magic, scrawls began to appear on his paper! Ideas, that a child could not have possibly even considered. Kevin came running back, a bit confused but otherwise enthralled to see “his” ideas coming to life as a plan. He quickly ran off to set up the correct appliances.

I was still in a minor state of shock, how could writing simply manage appear on a page with no one there to have put it down? Now wasn’t a time to question my sanity though, I followed Kevin throughout his house, he poured water on the steps that went up to his front door as well as the back, returning twice to add layers. He placed sharp ornaments and legos under windows and through the hall. Tar was placed on the old wooden steps leading up to his kitchen, and an iron was hung from the string of the light switch. Finally, Kevin made himself a bowl of microwave macaroni, and was just about to dig in when, BONG, BONG, BONG… the old grandfather clock struck nine times. Nightfall had arrived.

Kevin ran to the door, armed with a BB gun. Then the moment of truth. They arrived. I had the strangest sensation that this had happened before. “Hello, are you in there? It’s Santy Claus!” Yelled Harry through the door. “And his elf!!” Wait. Why hadn’t I noticed it sooner? That was the thing. The thing that made me forget. Kevin aimed his gun and shot it through the flap at the bottom of the door. Harry leaped backwards, screaming. I couldn’t see anything else. But I heard crying, and I hoped it wasn’t the child.

My eyes were still shut but I now knew where I was. Who I am. What had happened. I knew what I had to do. Tears were streaming down my face. Standing up slowly, I walked over to the woman, who looked quite frightened, and placed my hand behind her left ear and pressed. She passed out within seconds. I grinned to myself, and I’ll be the first to admit that you could have mistaken it for demonic, but I didn’t care. I was off to find the answers I craved. Not even Death could get in my way.

**Author's Note:**

> What did you like? What could be improved? I'm always looking to become a better writer! Let me know in the comments!! 
> 
> Comments and kudos make my day!! I hope you enjoyed and thanks for taking the time to read this!! :) :)


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